Bloodied Hagler Hammers Hearns

April 16, 1985|By Brian Schmitz of The Sentinel Staff

LAS VEGAS, NEV. — Bleeding profusely and fearing the fight might be stopped, Marvelous Marvin Hagler reached back to score a devastating third-round technical knockout over Thomas Hearns to retain his undisputed middleweight boxing title Monday night. Referee Richard Steele stopped the slugfest at 2:01 of the third round only a short while after he had called time to let ringside physician Victor Ramaro examine a deep cut over Hagler's right eye. Ramaro, saying the blood had not impaired Hagler's vision, motioned for the fight to continue. That was all the encouragement Hagler needed.

''I was a little afraid after the ref came over,'' he said. ''I thought about the blood and I turned into a bull.''

Ironically, it was a looping right hand thrown by Hagler -- not by the one-punch knockout artist called ''Hit Man'' -- that led to the quick end in the scheduled 12-round fight at Caesars Palace before a sellout crowd of 15,200.

Staggering across the ring in a daze, Hearns was nailed by two more rights before hitting the deck for just the second time in his illustrious career.

Hearns had a drunken look on his face and rose to his feet to beat the count. He then took a few steps forward.

But Steele looked into Hearns' wandering eyes and waved his hands over Hearns to stop the fight.

It was Hagler's 11th consecutive successful title defense and his 10th knockout victim in the last 11 fights.

Hearns, cocky and confident before the bout, saluted Hagler at the end.

''The man showed his greatness. It was a damn good fight. It can happen to the best of us. I'm okay. This is not the end,'' Hearns said, vowing he would come back physically stronger.

Hagler (61-2-2, 51 KOs) kept the pressure on Hearns the entire fight, muscling him inside and seldom taking a step backward. After campaigning 12 years as a middlweight, he was a better fighter in close than Hearns.

The 6-foot-2 Hearns' 5-inch height and reach advantage did not bother the champion. Hagler cut the ring off and scored repeatedly with hooks and right hands through Hearns' hands-by-the-belt style.

The fight was fierce from the opening bell and lived up to the hype. Caged up for months, the two fighters practically lunged at each other, trading punches.

''I took some good shots,'' Hagler said. ''He was throwing everything at me but the kitchen sink. I knew I had it after the second round.

''I could see he was tiring when he walked back to his corner.''

Hagler, known as a slow starter, changed his style and became the aggressor. The first round had more action than most title fights muster in 12 or 15 rounds.

Hagler said before the fight he could take the best Hearns (41-2) had to offer, and he did. Hearns rattled several right hands off Hagler's bald pate but couldn't rock him. Hearns opened a gash over Hagler's right eye in the opening round and made a smaller cut at the side of his nose later.

Hearns started boxing and moving in the second round. He didn't want to fight Hagler on the inside but Hagler frequently pinned Hearns against the ropes, firing away.

He was leaving Hearns no punching room. Hagler reached Hearns with three consecutive rights in the second while Hearns' punches were wide and wild.

Blood still flowed from Hagaler's head but he battled on.

He knew he had turned the fight into a brawl, which meant it was going his way. In the third, Hearns hit Hagler with several jabs but was caught against the ropes again by Hagler.

When the blood ran down Hagler's face, Steele called time. After the ringside physician signaled for the fight to continue, Hagler landed a big right.

Hearns was asked why he tried to slug it out. ''I had to,'' he said. ''The situation presented itself because Marvin came after me. He was trying to show he was a bigger man than I was.''

The ploy to challenge Hearns' manhood worked for Hagler.

Hagler said he wanted to beat Hearns worse than Sugar Ray Leonard did in 1981. Leonard scored a 14th-round TKO after Hearns ran out of gas and was knocked down for the first time.

''He's a good fighter but he was cocky and I had something for him,'' Hagler said holding up his right hand.